19TH CENTURY

Details

THREE RARE SIGNED MINIATURE SOAPSTONE CARVINGS
19TH CENTURY
Two carved from tianhuang of rich caramel color: one a carving of a meiren languidly reclining against a pierced garden rock, holding a scroll in her left hand, her loose tunic and pants carved with graceful folds that continue beneath to form the base, finely inscribed, Tui-gu; the other a carving of two overlapping mushrooms, inscribed, Diao-xian; the third a jixue ('chicken-blood') carving of radishes, the reddish color in the stone used to highlight the tops of the radishes, inscribed, Zhu-yin
Figure 3 1/8 in. (8 cm.) long, box and stands (3)

Provenance

Christie's, New York, 3 June 1993, lot 61.

Literature

P. Moss, Escape from the Dusty World, London, 1999, pp. 240-43, no. 67.

Sale room notice

Please note that the signature on the mushroom carving, Diaoxian, is the given name of the Hangzhou poetess and painter Chen Liju, daughter of Chen Wenshu (1775-1845).

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Lot Essay

All of the signatures appear to be those of early or mid-19th century carvers. That on the figure, Tui-gu, is probably an art name, possibly that of Yang Ru-jie, a Qing dynasty calligrapher, musician and poet. The signature on the mushrooms, Diao-xian, is the given name of the early-mid 19th century poetess and painter, Chen Wen-shu. The signature on the radishes, Zhu-yin, is unrecorded.

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